Placement agents learn new tricks of the trade

Intermediaries find they need to adapt to survive

By

Oliver Smiddy

October 16, 2006 5:00 p.m. GMT

The boom in private equity fundraising, with a record $300bn (€240bn) captured this year, has been good for placement agents. But as managers and investors become more sophisticated, the agents might have to evolve to survive.

A placement agent's main role is to introduce investors to a private equity firm that is raising a fund. The intermediaries have been around for more than 10 years, though their role has changed. Laurence Zage, a director of placement agent Monument Group, said: "Private equity used to be quite...